A World Upside Down
by FaithinBones
Summary: Micah hears about the explosion at the Lab and races to the Jeffersonian to help wtih the rescue. (At the end of Season 12)


(Season 12)

Drpnces requested a story about Micah.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

It was almost five in the evening when Micah saw a breaking news items crawl across the bottom of his television screen. He had just woke up from a good day of sleep and had turned on a game he had wanted to see when his world almost immediately turned upside down. Horrified, he saw that there had been an explosion at the Jeffersonian. The local news broke in on the game he was watching with pictures of smoke pouring from the Jeffersonian. The news anchor said they had little news, but they did know there were casualties and that there were some people trapped in the Lab portion of the museum.

Though he wasn't scheduled to work until ten, Micah knew he couldn't just sit there and watch the news. His friends and co-workers were in that building and he worried that Dr. Brennan and Ms. Montenegro were trapped in the Lab. Add to that Dr. Hodgins was in a wheel chair and that just increased his worry. Dr. Saroyan was a great administrator and he was sure she had tried to get everyone out, but still he needed to make sure those four were alright.

After he finished dressing, he turned off the TV and grabbed a nylon backpack from the closet. As quickly as he could, he filled it with six bottles of water, two flashlights, a first aid kit, a coil of nylon rope, a hammer and a crowbar. The crowbar stuck out of the top of the bag and since he didn't want to get gouged with the end of it while he carried it, he grabbed a pair of thick socks and slipped then both over the end of tool. Satisfied that he had what he needed, he left his house, threw the bag in the trunk of his car and left for the Jeffersonian.

Praying the whole way, Micah kept his radio turned to WTOP-FM, trying to pick up any information available about the Jeffersonian.

Once he was there, he found that parking was a nightmare. Just to keep out of the way of Emergency vehicles, Micah parked almost a mile away, grabbed his bag from the trunk and headed for the Jeffersonian. He was almost there when he was stopped by two policemen. Unfortunately they wouldn't let him near the entrances even though he worked there.

Since he wasn't going to be thwarted if he could help it, he made his way around the block and cut through an alleyway near the Jeffersonian and then cut through the rose garden. Most of the action was near the main entrances and he knew he had to avoid those. Carefully, he walked along the base of the Jeffersonian, the sharp tang of smoke in the air making his throat itch. Trying not to draw attention to himself, he was grateful his clothes were dark and since the sun was down, he didn't stick out like he would in the daylight.

Reaching his objective, Micah used his key and entered a side door that was rarely used by anyone in the building. It was near the end of the building and gave anyone that needed it access to the basement. The hallway was narrow, so people usually ignored it and used the bay entrance when they had to move something into the interior of the basement.

The stink of smoke was thick and Micah stopped to tie his handkerchief around his face, covering his nose and mouth. With the aid of one of his flashlights, he found the hallway to be clear of debris. Clearly the explosions had occurred further away. They had mentioned entrances to the Lab were filled with rubble on the news, so the blasts had to have occurred in that part of the building.

Encouraged, Micah found the door he was looking for and once more used his key to enter what he considered the gem of the institute. This particular room was filled with cabinets and closets of valuable artifacts. From the rifle that killed John F. Kennedy to two moon rocks the place was filled with treasures that the public rarely saw.

As he made his way through the large room, he found that all was not well. As he got closer to the staircase that led up to the Lab he found a lot of cabinets had been knocked over and precious artifacts had spilled to the floor. Cautiously, he moved the artifacts out of the way, filling up drawers and stacking them one on top of another trying to place them out of the way. It was slow work and it made him very anxious.

He was worried about his friends and was afraid he was taking too long. He knew that rescue teams were working to get to the scientists in the Lab, but he was still sure that if he could make it to the staircase he could get into the building quicker than the emergency personnel.

Methodically, he worked to get to the staircase, but not at the expense of destroying the spilled artifacts. Finally at the staircase, he noticed that there was rubble on the steps, but not enough to stop him. With each step taken, he shoved debris out of the way or tossed it over the side and finally reached the door he was looking for. That door led into a janitor's closet and from there into the Lab near the platform. Checking his watch, he paused, removed the handkerchief from his face to drink water and noticed that it had taken him two hours to get where he needed to be.

Filled with fear, he knew that he had taken too long and worried that he was too late to help anyone. When he tried to open the door at the top of the stairs, he found that it wouldn't open. Carefully checking the edges, he noticed that the door had been damaged. Pulling his crowbar from his bag, he pulled the socks from the end, stuffed them in the bag and placed the bag near the door. After he placed his flashlight on the bag and aimed it near the doorknob, he used both hands on the tool and with a lot of straining he finally got the door to open. The noise it made was horrifically loud, but he didn't care. It wasn't as if he was trying to sneak in. Once he had the door open, he found the items stored in the room were scattered around the floor. One of the shelves was leaning towards the middle of the room, but it didn't look like it was going to fall since it was being held up by the shelf next to it. That shelf had sagged outward and it had caught the other shelf before it fell. Shoving the cleaning supplies, paper towels and toilet paper out of the way, he retrieved his bag and returned to the door leading into the Lab.

Deeply exhaling, Micah was tired, but he wasn't about to give up. Using the crowbar once more, he got that door open and walked out into a nightmare world. The Lab was filled with smoke and floating dirt particles. The platform had been destroyed and the piles of steel and aluminum pipe and flooring were everywhere. Pieces of brick were scattered everywhere as well as a multitude of tempered glass pieces. Luckily the ceiling was made of safety glass and the glass walls that enclosed numerous offices were also made of safety glass. Grateful that he didn't have to deal with shards of glass, he cautiously made his way into the Lab. Before he started moving anything, Micah decided to see if anyone could hear him. "Hey . . . hey is there anyone here? I'm at the janitor's closet. Can you tell me where you are?"

A faint voice called back to him. "Hey are you trapped? Hold on, we're on the way."

"No! I'm not trapped." Micah started to move some of the debris away from where he was. "I came up through the basement. Do you need help? Just tell me where you are."

The voice louder, Micah heard someone stumbling through the debris filled room as whoever it was tried to assure him. "Hey man, I'm coming. Just stay where you are. This place is a landmine of crap. You can get hurt walking around here. Just stay there."

Filled with worry, Micah called out. "Is Dr. Brennan here? Dr. Saroyan? Are they okay? How about Dr. Hodgins?"

"We rescued four people about ten minutes ago." Suddenly a fireman was standing in front of Micah holding a flashlight. "Hey man, I'm glad you aren't hurt. Did you say you came up from the basement?"

Micah nodded his head. "I was at home when I heard about the explosions. I remembered the storage area below this lab and the staircase that leads up to the janitor closet. It took me longer than I expected to make it up here. I wanted to help out anyone that was trapped here."

"We found two men and two women when we broke into a side wall. The entrances were filled with too much crap, so it was easier to punch a hole in the wall of the building. I wish I had known about the staircase, I'd have helped you." The fireman weaved the light of his flashlight around in front of him and shook his head. "I think you'd be better off going back the way you came. These pieces of railing and stuff are blocking your way. Since there isn't anyone else to be rescued then it would probably be safer if you just go back . . . Hey man, I appreciate you trying to help. Next time find a rescuer and tell him about the basement."

"I tried to tell a police officer, but he pretty much told me to go away." Micah shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to waste time and I sure didn't want to be arrested for interfering."

Aware that the police would have been wary of anyone trying to get near the Jeffersonian, he knew that Micah had risked being arrested when he ignored the police. He clearly wanted to help and he'd found a way to try. With a faint smile, the firemen nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah, the cops have it tough in situations like this. They have to keep the rubberneckers out and they can be overly cautious. Still I guess they have to be. This place was bombed and I guess the bomber is still out there somewhere."

A cold feeling ran down Micah's spine. "God I hope they catch the bastard soon . . . The four people you rescued, were they hurt?"

The rescuer shrugged his shoulders. "I think they all had blood on them, but they were ambulatory. No one had broken bones which is damn miraculous. I can't believe they were in here when the explosion happened and survived let alone without major injuries. They looked like hell, cuts and stuff, but not too bad."

"Well thank God." Micah sighed. "Okay, I'm going to go. I cleared a path downstairs so if you guys need to check it out, it's clear enough to walk through."

"Thanks man." Before Micah could leave, the fireman wanted to know who this brave man was. "My name is John Cambridge. What's your name?"

"Micah Leggat." Micah picked up his bag, rummaged in it, retrieved a bottle of water and tossed it to the fireman. "Nice to meet you."

Grateful for the water, John broke the seal and drank some of it. "Whew, I didn't realize I was thirsty. Thanks man."

With a wave of his hand, Micah turned and began his trek out of the Lab. He may not have rescued anyone, but at least he knew that everyone was safe and that was the important part.

Oooooooooooooooo

Micah received a call and had been told to come to the Lab during his shift to help guard the entrances to the institute. No one was allowed into the building unless they were cleared by the Director of the institute. Workers had poured into the Lab and the adjacent parts of the institute to clear out some of the debris. He had heard that Dr. Brennan, Dr. Saroyan, Ms. Montenegro, Dr. Hodgins and a bunch of the interns had been allowed in to work on the skeletons located in the Lab. They were trying to find the bomber and hoped the bones would help. Micah prayed for their success.

A few days later, he was sitting on a chair outside the main entrance to the Lab, checking the ID of anyone that wanted in and comparing it to a list he had on a clipboard. The sound of feet coming down the hallway alerted him to company. Soon Dr. Saroyan came into view. "Micah."

Placing the clipboard down, Micah stood up and smiled at the coroner. "Dr. Saroyan. I'm glad you're doing alright. I heard you got out before the explosion hit the Lab."

Cam moved quickly down the hallway and over to where the security guard was standing. Much to Micah's surprise, Cam hugged him and then stepped back. "Thank you Micah. I heard from the fire department that you tried to rescue Dr. Brennan, Angela, Hodgins and Booth by coming through the basement. I am so grateful that you tried. Thank you."

His cheeks a rosy color, Micah felt a little embarrassed, "Yeah, but I didn't rescue anyone. I was ten minutes too late. The basement was such a mess, I had to move stuff to get to the stairs. It took too much time."

"That doesn't matter." Cam kept her hand on his arm. "You tried and I am so grateful. Dr. Kershaw cried when he saw the basement artifacts, but he told me he was so grateful that you had placed what you could into drawers and stacked the drawers out of the way. He plans to talk to you and thank you for making sure the articles were safe. He's not allowed in the building right now, but I'm sure he will thank you as soon as he can."

"Aw, that's not necessary." Micah thought Cam was making too much of what he had done. "I'm paid to protect the stuff we have here and I tried to make sure that the stuff in the basement wasn't damaged when I moved around down there. It slowed me down, but . . . I just couldn't damage all of those artifacts down there. They're . . . they're our history. They have to be protected. I am sorry that I couldn't get everyone out sooner."

Cam knew that Micah loved the Jeffersonian. "Nonsense. You did a hell of a job all by yourself. I for one am grateful. You tried to help and in your way you did. Now I have to go to work. Thanks Micah. I'll see you later. Dr. Brennan should be here soon and I believe Angela and Hodgins are on the way in too. We have to recover what we can from our offices before they come in and start the renovations."

Micah moved back to his chair and sat down. "I'll be here if you need anything."

Cam smiled and moved through the doorway leading into the Lab. The doors had shattered in the explosion and that was just one more thing that needed to be replaced as well as the glass roof. _What a mess. Thank God no one was killed though. We can rebuild and we will. Dr. Hodgins will definitely have his hands full for the next six months supervising this mess._

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


End file.
